Everything is Better with a Waterbrush!

My Aunt-the-Artist gave me a few art supplies for christmas: a small sketchbook, a set of pencils, and a tin of Stabilo Pen 68’s. I have to admit I was a little disappointed– the Pen 68’s are really just fibre tip markers, and I definitely don’t work very often with markers. Stephanie at Spiritual Evolution of the Bean also gave these a mediocre review.

You can see in the image to the left that the size of the fibre tips vary a lot from pen to pen– the brown and red are a lot fatter and softer than the black and navy blue, for example. Frankly, I felt like I was just using cheap elementary school markers– they didn’t feel like something to be bought at an art supply store.

…BUT! A few weeks later, my aunt mentioned that she heard they worked well with a brush and some water– which makes sense, as most water-based markers are easily softened or blended with water.

I definitely wouldn’t categorize the Stabilo Pen 68 as a water-soluble medium: they’re not going to blend out very far, and the original markings with the pen tip will still be visible. However, I’ve found that they make a nice accent tool when used with a water brush. They feel less like children’s markers, and a little more grown up.

So as I played around with the Pen 68’s, my fondness for the waterbrush growing, I realized that it’s probably safe to say that many things are improved by a water brush. Caran D’ache Neocolor II’s? Check. Caran D’ache Museum leads? Check. Caran D’ache watersoluble wax pastels? Check.